2011 Annual Report - The Commerce Commission

Table 2: Cases Successfully Disposed Of in 2011(cont…)Cases Resolved in 2011Case Number Case Name Issues Part of CCD 2010 ProvisionsBreached2011/09/07/BC-FTD/218Consumer Lvs. InstitutionNOn 07-09-11, the Commission received a complaint from Consumer Lregarding interests and fees charged on their home loan account number6710492 by Institution N. The complainant informed FCC that they hadobtained a home loan from Institution N in 2008. Institution N’s initial offerletter stated that the monthly loan service fee would be $10, however, fromMay 2011; the complainant noted that they were charged $35 for the samefee. A Bank statement dated 07-08-2008 till date stated that there was agradual decrease in the interest charged but on many instances, the newinterest amount added at the beginning of the new month was greater thanthe interest amount added in the previous month. FCC formally wrote toInstitution N, informing them of the issue and seeking a response. Aresponse was received from Institution N informing FCC that the new feecame into effect on 1 May 2011 following a full review of bank fees. InstituteN’s fee structure was approved by the Reserve Bank of Fiji on 18 March2011 after rigorous screening. The interest rate applicable was charged onthe reducing balance. This was confirmed by the gradual decrease noted inthe monthly interest incurred by the complainant. The amount of monthlyinterest is affected by the number of days in a month. Therefore, theamount charged for months with 31 days would be more than the othermonths by few dollars. FCC after making its assessment and analysisformally conveyed the above to the complainant and the case was closed.No Breach of Commerce CommissionDecree 2010Page95of236